مدار الساعة - محمد ابو كف -
Orange Jordan concluded the Persons with Disabilities Hackathon which was designed to encourage university students to come up with digital solutions to overcome inaccessibility in this arena. The competition was launched in November on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd. The Hackathon included a 4-day boot camp, held at Orange Digital Village. It helped participants by training them on digital manufacturing to develop creative and tech-based ideas and solutions, to innovatively tackle challenges related to persons with disabilities.
Five finalists, who qualified for the last stage out of 50 students from all Jordanian universities who applied to participate in the Hackathon, showcased and pitched their ideas before the jurors who in turn evaluated the ideas to announce the three winners.
The final projects consisted of Empower Ability, which is an application aimed at making cars and vehicles accessible to overcome challenges in the transportation sector. The second project was Finn Technology which was designed to support persons with hearing impairments. LendMeSight was developed to support persons with visual disabilities enabling them to move safely and freely. RECO founders showcased their project’s idea aimed at providing limbs at competitive costs. The final project was SWIFT and aimed to ensure the safe participation of persons with disabilities in sports such as swimming and running.
The winning projects comprised RECO in first place, LendMeSight in second place, and SWIFT in third place.
The Chief Corporate Communication and Sustainability Officer, Eng. Rana Al Dababneh valued the ideas of the participants embodying Orange’s strive to put technology at the service of communities. She considered these projects as a first step toward laying the foundation for an inclusive society that embraces everyone.
